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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

A new edition of “The Key to Metal Bumping” is now available from Martin Tool & Forge (Fort Worth, TX). The book has been used since its first edition, published in 1939, as a work of reference in technical schools and professional shops. By maintaining close relationships with professionals in the field, Martin Tool & Forge has developed new technologies and updates to its long-running publication.

Wireway Husky Corp. (Denver, NC) has developed a modular, welded wire partition system that is easy to install in a wide range of storage and machinery applications. The EZ-Matrix Wire Partition System features an 8-gauge 2” square welded wire mesh modular construction.

Building a car like the Audi R8 Spyder takes a lot of hard work, patience, and hand-built labor. No wonder the end product is so stunning.
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Have any comments or questions about our Thursday video editions of IMPO Insider? Or do you have a video you'd like to see featured in one of our deployments? Email me at Joel.

According to CNN , Americans use enough plastic in a year to shrink wrap Texas. Enter Jean Haegele, who wanted to live her life plastic-free. Two-and-a-half years later, she's almost there, going to extremes to keep plastic out of her life, including baking her own bread and making cinnamon toothpaste (with vodka).

Marbles might not be as popular as they once used to be, but that doesn't mean many of us don't have fond memories of playing with them as kids. Even though marble production largely occurs outside the U.S. these days, we can still see how the colorful glass spheres are made. Like much of manufacturing, it takes an artistry that not anyone can achieve.

The guys who made the Diet Coke and Mentos reaction a worldwide phenomenon are at it again: they built a "car" powered on the explosive mixture alone. Will we forget about electric cars in favor of this contraption? Probably not.
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Altria Group Inc. has agreed to pay about $971 million in taxes and interest in an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service over income tax returns for the years 2000 through 2003, the cigarette maker said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
However, Altria also said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it intends to file administrative claims with the IRS for a refund or credit, and would sue the government if the claims are denied.

BELMONT, N.C. (AP) — A South Carolina textile company plans to open a yarn-making operation in a vacant mill in North Carolina, employing about 100 people.
Multiple media outlets reported that Jo-Mar Spinning will start the spinning and twisting operation in the former Helms plant in Belmont.

BEIJING (AP) — Honda Motor Co. said a key parts factory in China resumed full operation Wednesday following a two-week strike over wages that forced Honda to halt production at four assembly plants.
The strike highlighted tensions between workers and foreign companies that look to China as a source of cheap labor and a fast-growing market amid weak demand elsewhere.

PRINCETON, Ind. (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting production of the gas model Highlander sport utility vehicle at its southern Indiana plant.
Toyota spokeswoman Kelly Dillon said Tuesday that production of all of company's gas model Highlanders for the North American market will be shifted in the coming months from one of Toyota's plants in Japan to its Princeton-area plant.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — The U.S. government has proposed more than $214,000 in fines against a Canadian seafood processing company accused of violations at a New Hampshire plant.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says inspectors found 17 violations of workplace health and safety standards at High Liner Foods in Portsmouth.

SANAND, India (AP) — Tata Motors inaugurated a factory Wednesday to produce its super-cheap compact Nano car, nearly two years after violent farmer protests forced the company to relocate.
The new factory in India's business-friendly Gujarat state promises to unleash production of the pint-sized car, which Tata plans to export to Europe, and eventually the U.

In Washington, 90 U.S. scientists wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to fix accounting standards for greenhouse gas emissions associated with bioenergy projects.
The scientists said they wanted to correct a perception that “all biofuels and bioenergy are equally good for the environment and are all lower in carbon emissions than fossil fuels.

For the chemical industry, POD printing of labels reduces lead times, improves supply chain managment, equates to shorter run lengths and minimal stock holding, and satisfied the requirements of variable data and other last-minute changes.
In the chemical industry, simple adhesive labels are anything but simple.

HEMCO (Independence, MO) now offers the Emergency Shower Booth for compliance with OSHA requirements. The unit is capable of immediately drenching personnel that have been exposed to hazardous chemicals, and is ideal for industrial environments. The unit is equipped with a pull rod activated shower and push handle eye/face wash for quick rinsing of the eyes, face, and body.

The KeyDisc Holder from Count On Tools, Inc. (Gainesville, GA) keeps key L-wrenches readily available for every situation. With a new design, the KeyDisc holder can be rotated around to lock the tools in place for transporting the tool set. To use the tools, simply rotate the disc clockwise as far as it will go, and remove the keys by twisting the L-wrench forward.

Misumi USA, Inc. (Schaumburg, IL) introduces a new product family of 316 stainless steel screws, nuts, and washers. The fastening products are manufactured to precise specifications to be used with machinery and automated systems in settings where sanitation standards are stringent and frequent washdowns are required — such as the food, beverage, chemical, medical, and pharmaceutical industries.

Thomas & Betts (Memphis, TN) has announced the Color-Keyed HEX-FLEX crimping dies to provide an inspectable, high-performance crimp on flex-conductor cables. The dies create a hex-style crimp on the top of the connector, and an indent crimp in the bottom for superior pull-out resistance.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it will cut about 9,000 jobs and take $1 billion in charges over three years as it creates fully automated commercial data centers.
The Palo Alto, Calif. technology company said it will invest $1 billion in its enterprise services unit, over a multiyear period.

MIAMI (AP) — A leading East Coast homebuilder worried about the malodorous Chinese drywall it was using in Florida homes in 2006, but didn't alert most of its customers or government officials, according to court documents.
The concern was so great that WCI Communities at one point planned to tear out the drywall and rebuild.